A revolutionary new space engine technology with the potential to make a trip to Mars in 10 weeks has been in the works by NASA the concept has been tested again. The last series of tests were done months ago and this time they have used a vacuum to test how it might behave in space.

SpaceX just took another leap forward, or should we say hop with its Grasshopper test flight. It hit 2440 feet (744 meters) above the McGregor, Texas facility. They filmed using a hexacopter equipped with an HD camera. This achievement occurred on October 7th 2013. This is a rocket capable of launching and landing vertically, as seen in this video. The goal of this program is to create a reusable first stage rocket engine for the Falcon 9. Typically the first stage falls back to the earth and crashes in the ocean. The goal is to have that first stage return to earth controlled and save money for future flights.

There is growing buzz spreading about a manned 2018 private mission to Mars. The organization responsible for this rumor is the Inspiration Mars Foundation, led by millionaire Dennis Tito, also the world's first space tourist. A press conference is to be held on February 27th to officially announce a 501-day roundtrip mission launching in 2018.

As is well known now, there has been a meteor shower in Russia which has injured up to 1000 at this point from the blast. The event occurred in Russia's Urals region Friday morning. The flash and boom shattered glass from windows and injured people in the process. The explosion was around 9:20 a.m. local time.